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Synnadic, or Phrygian, which reflected the quarry’s geographical location. Docimium was
the nearest village to the marble veins, Synnada the city where the Romans established the
imperial administration center (modern Subut), and Phrygia the entire surrounding
region. 310
Docimian marble was highly valued in Rome, both for architectural uses such as
column shafts, floors, wall revetments, and for sculptures. The violet shade of the stone
could be used to imitate stains of blood as in the body of Marsyas hanged in a tree (Rome,
Palazzo dei Conservatori), or the nuances of a colored drape adorning the bust of a woman
whose head was skillfully carved from a white portion of the same block (Rome, Palazzo
dei Conservatori). 311
Pavonazzetto was not the only marble quarried at Docimium. Another important
variety is the white Synnadic, “a shining white marble that was largely used for sarcophagi
of second and third centuries A.D., statues, and copies of the great masterpieces of classical
art.” 312 The Attic bases and Ionic capitals visible at the Nautical Museum of Capo Colonna
and in Square “Antonio Caputi” were carved from this variety of stone.
A complex series of inscriptions, some long and extremely detailed, were in use at
the Docimian quarries, but only on the artifacts made of pavonazzetto (for parallels from
Punta Scifo A, see COL 1, BLC 6, BLC 8). It is possible that the white Synnadic marble
enjoyed a more commercial use, and the inscriptions reflect the necessity of inventorying
only the items that belonged to the Imperial patrimony. The large number of sarcophagi
310 Borghini 2001, 264.
311 Borghini 2001, 265, fig. 109c.
312 Pensabene 2002b, 203-7.